Religion scholars' risky role

Serving as advisers to movies and TV series a stretch for academics

The cameras are rolling! Cue the religion scholar to compress centuries of religious history into a sound bite, elucidate complex theology in eight-word sentences — and guard against stereotyping.

Religion scholars face such challenges when they comment on breaking news or serve as advisers to television and film producers. Their goal is to ensure accuracy and avoid offense in media that portray the lives of the faithful and chronicle the impact of religious ideas, institutions and leaders. But the role is a stretch — and a risk.

Popular entertainment media stress "the opposite of what is rewarded in academia, where you burrow into arcane and narrow subjects," said Boston University professor of religion Stephen Prothero who was an editorial adviser on the 2010 PBS series "God in America." It covered four centuries through 18 stories in 20-minute segments and was well-received by TV reviewers and the general public, he said. But other scholars called it "simplistic and full of holes, triumphalist and irresponsible to contemporary scholarship."

That's legitimate but off target, said Prothero: "It's like reading a haiku and saying, 'It would be great if it were just two lines longer.'"

Loyola Marymount University professor of theological studies Amir Hussain has worked in film and with TV series, including Morgan Freeman's "The Story of God." He enjoyed Freeman's look at diversity among and within religions, and generally finds TV series allow more time to develop characters, showing how traditions and practices are integrated into their lives. He offered the example of the series "Community," in which "one of the college students just happens to be Muslim."

Advisers must be on the lookout for errors. Hussain recalled an episode of "House" in which a faith healer cast out demons in the name of God. "Hogwash! Evangelicals know very well that demons are only cast out in the name of Jesus," Hussain said.